Christmas for Every Child - Democratic Underground

MountainLaurel

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Mon Dec-25-06 05:30 PM
Original message

Christmas for Every Child

An incredible story of the true Christmas spirit:

It was a few minutes after the big Christmas party started last night at Stonefish Grill in Largo. Owner Donnell Long had invited 100 disadvantaged and foster children and their families for a grand holiday celebration.

There were plates laden with turkey, baked ham, green beans, candied yams, mashed potatoes, baked apples and cranberry sauce. Hundreds of toys were lined up, ready to be presented to the youngest of the dinner party guests -- 100 children who are either homeless or won't be sharing this holiday with their biological families.

snip

That is the way Long, 35, who was deserted at age 3 in a car in New York, wants it to be. Each year, he feeds hundreds of people -- mostly children -- at Christmas and Thanksgiving. He remembers the pain of childhood holidays "without love and family." His best Christmas, he recalled, was the only year his mother brought him gifts.

snip

Long said he holds his Thanksgiving and Christmas parties at his restaurant because he recalls scenes in soap operas he watched as a child where happy families gathered in restaurants during the holidays.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/24/AR2006122400923.html

:cry:

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ayeshahaqqiqa

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Mon Dec-25-06 05:46 PM
Response to Original message

1. Wow. Just wow

We Sufis say that when the heart is broken, it means it has a greater capacity to open up and emit love. This is what has obviously happened here.

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nuxvomica

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Mon Dec-25-06 05:47 PM
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2. Great article. Donnell Long is some kind of great man.

Now I must dry my peepers and go to dinner. Thanks for posting this, MountainLaurel, and a Merry Christmas to ya!

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MountainLaurel

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Mon Dec-25-06 10:40 PM
Response to Reply #2

5. You're welcome

And Merry Christmas back at you!

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babylonsister

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Mon Dec-25-06 08:10 PM
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3. Tis better to give than to receive, my old mum used to say. Mr. Long

has the true Christmas spirit. It's nice to know there are people like him out there.

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brer cat

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Mon Dec-25-06 08:56 PM
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4. That's Christmas!

Donnell Long has it right: doing for others rather than what's in this for me.

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